Water Shortage and Property Investing In Mexico City, Spanish Version Net Present Value (NPV) / MBA Resources

Introduction to Net Present Value (NPV) - What is Net Present Value (NPV) ? How it impacts financial decisions regarding project management?

NPV solution for Water Shortage and Property Investing In Mexico City, Spanish Version case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Water Shortage and Property Investing In Mexico City, Spanish Version case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by John D. Macomber, Regina Garcia-Cuellar, Griffin H. James. The Water Shortage and Property Investing In Mexico City, Spanish Version (referred as “Water Mexico” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Finance & Accounting. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Government, International business.

The net present value (NPV) of an investment proposal is the present value of the proposal’s net cash flows less the proposal’s initial cash outflow. If a project’s NPV is greater than or equal to zero, the project should be accepted.

NPV = Present Value of Future Cash Flows LESS Project’s Initial Investment

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Case Description of Water Shortage and Property Investing In Mexico City, Spanish Version Case Study

To maximize their effectiveness, color cases should be printed in color.A commercial property company evaluates water risks including the government's ability to remedy, the company's operating exposure and mitigation, and whether to relocate because of water risk. A real estate fund manager assesses investment prospects in Mexico City in the context of a major water supply and distribution crisis facing one of the world's largest cities. Can the investment manager understand the water problems so she can make a decision whether to invest in Mexico City? What will she learn about how water is sourced and distributed in Mexico City? And how might the potential public-private partnerships being discussed affect her investment prospects? The fund's investors are seeking real estate exposure in major world cities, particularly Mexico City. How can they assess and mitigate this exposure? How can they extend this thinking to other cities and countries?

Case Authors : John D. Macomber, Regina Garcia-Cuellar, Griffin H. James

Topic : Finance & Accounting

Related Areas : Government, International business

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Water Shortage and Property Investing In Mexico City, Spanish Version Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10005808)	-10005808	-	-
Year 1	3447621	-6558187	3447621	0.9434	3252473
Year 2	3956891	-2601296	7404512	0.89	3521619
Year 3	3945998	1344702	11350510	0.8396	3313136
Year 4	3228680	4573382	14579190	0.7921	2557417
TOTAL			14579190		12644645

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2638837

In isolation the NPV number doesn't mean much but put in right context then it is one of the best method to evaluate project returns. In this article we will cover -

Different methods of capital budgeting

What is NPV & Formula of NPV,
How it is calculated,
How to use NPV number for project evaluation, and
Scenario Planning given risks and management priorities.

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Capital Budgeting Approaches

Methods of Capital Budgeting

There are four types of capital budgeting techniques that are widely used in the corporate world –

1. Payback Period
2. Net Present Value
3. Profitability Index
4. Internal Rate of Return

Apart from the Payback period method which is an additive method, rest of the methods are based on Discounted Cash Flow technique. Even though cash flow can be calculated based on the nature of the project, for the simplicity of the article we are assuming that all the expected cash flows are realized at the end of the year.

Discounted Cash Flow approaches provide a more objective basis for evaluating and selecting investment projects. They take into consideration both –

1. Magnitude of both incoming and outgoing cash flows – Projects can be capital intensive, time intensive, or both. Water Mexico shareholders have preference for diversified projects investment rather than prospective high income from a single capital intensive project.
2. Timing of the expected cash flows – stockholders of Water Mexico have higher preference for cash returns over 4-5 years rather than 10-15 years given the nature of the volatility in the industry.

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of Water Shortage and Property Investing In Mexico City, Spanish Version

NPV = Net Cash In Flowt1 / (1+r)t1 + Net Cash In Flowt2 / (1+r)t2 + … Net Cash In Flowtn / (1+r)tn
Less Net Cash Out Flowt0 / (1+r)t0

Where t = time period, in this case year 1, year 2 and so on.
r = discount rate or return that could be earned using other safe proposition such as fixed deposit or treasury bond rate. Net Cash In Flow – What the firm will get each year.
Net Cash Out Flow – What the firm needs to invest initially in the project.

Step 1 – Understand the nature of the project and calculate cash flow for each year.
Step 2 – Discount those cash flow based on the discount rate.
Step 3 – Add all the discounted cash flow.
Step 4 – Selection of the project

Why Finance & Accounting Managers need to know Financial Tools such as Net Present Value (NPV)?

In our daily workplace we often come across people and colleagues who are just focused on their core competency and targets they have to deliver. For example marketing managers at Water Mexico often design programs whose objective is to drive brand awareness and customer reach. But how that 30 point increase in brand awareness or 10 point increase in customer touch points will result into shareholders’ value is not specified.

To overcome such scenarios managers at Water Mexico needs to not only know the financial aspect of project management but also needs to have tools to integrate them into part of the project development and monitoring plan.

Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 15%

After working through various assumptions we reached a conclusion that risk is far higher than 6%. In a reasonably stable industry with weak competition - 15% discount rate can be a good benchmark.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 15 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10005808)	-10005808	-	-
Year 1	3447621	-6558187	3447621	0.8696	2997931
Year 2	3956891	-2601296	7404512	0.7561	2991978
Year 3	3945998	1344702	11350510	0.6575	2594558
Year 4	3228680	4573382	14579190	0.5718	1846008
TOTAL					10430475

The Net NPV after 4 years is 424667

(10430475 - 10005808 )

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 20%

If the risk component is high in the industry then we should go for a higher hurdle rate / discount rate of 20%.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 20 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10005808)	-10005808	-	-
Year 1	3447621	-6558187	3447621	0.8333	2873018
Year 2	3956891	-2601296	7404512	0.6944	2747841
Year 3	3945998	1344702	11350510	0.5787	2283564
Year 4	3228680	4573382	14579190	0.4823	1557041
TOTAL					9461463

The Net NPV after 4 years is -544345

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9461463 - 10005808 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Water Mexico to discount cash flow at lower discount rates such as 15%.

Acceptance Criteria of a Project based on NPV

Simplest Approach – If the investment project of Water Mexico has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Water Mexico can ACCEPT the project, otherwise they can reject the project. This means that project will deliver higher returns over the period of time than any alternate investment strategy.

In theory if the required rate of return or discount rate is chosen correctly by finance managers at Water Mexico, then the stock price of the Water Mexico should change by same amount of the NPV. In real world we know that share price also reflects various other factors that can be related to both macro and micro environment.

In the same vein – accepting the project with zero NPV should result in stagnant share price. Finance managers use discount rates as a measure of risk components in the project execution process.

Sensitivity Analysis

Project selection is often a far more complex decision than just choosing it based on the NPV number. Finance managers at Water Mexico should conduct a sensitivity analysis to better understand not only the inherent risk of the projects but also how those risks can be either factored in or mitigated during the project execution. Sensitivity analysis helps in –

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

What are the uncertainties surrounding the project Initial Cash Outlay (ICO’s). ICO’s often have several different components such as land, machinery, building, and other equipment.

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

What will be a multi year spillover effect of various taxation regulations.

What are the key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

Some of the assumptions while using the Discounted Cash Flow Methods –

Projects are assumed to be Mutually Exclusive – This is seldom the came in modern day giant organizations where projects are often inter-related and rejecting a project solely based on NPV can result in sunk cost from a related project.

Independent projects have independent cash flows – As explained in the marketing project – though the project may look independent but in reality it is not as the brand awareness project can be closely associated with the spending on sales promotions and product specific advertising.

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Negotiation Strategy of Water Shortage and Property Investing In Mexico City, Spanish Version

References & Further Readings

John D. Macomber, Regina Garcia-Cuellar, Griffin H. James (2018), "Water Shortage and Property Investing In Mexico City, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.